“*th century house” housing style breakdown

July 6, 2021 5:52 AM

I see things like “19th century” or other centuries about houses and have no frame of reference for which kind of house is which. I would like to know what all the types of houses mean. 17th, 18th, 19th, any century, dutch colonial, and others. Thanks!
posted by jitterbug perfume to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Here's a good place to begin. And Google is your friend, just search "historic us house styles" for similar sites.
posted by beagle at 5:57 AM on July 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

Well, saying "Xth century house" is basically meaningless. Tastes and technology change too quickly (even 300 years ago) for any given century to have a specific style, not to mention variations based on country and region and wealth. But simply googling "housing styles" turns up all sorts of stuff.
posted by jdroth at 5:58 AM on July 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

If you’re in the US, see A Field Guide to American Houses.
posted by zamboni at 6:03 AM on July 6, 2021 [14 favorites]

The Museum of the home in London UK has a series of "Rooms Through Time". See some of the ways in which homes and home life have evolved in the past 400 years.
posted by boudicca at 6:03 AM on July 6, 2021 [6 favorites]

As an architectural historian, seconding that McAlester's Field Guide to American Houses linked by zamboni above is the bible of house styles if you are in the US. The new edition also has a lot of great information about regional variations and vernacular house forms, so it is great for a deep dive (albeit a bit of a hefty tome).

There isn't really a style called "17th century" "18th century" etc. This is usually used as a catch-all encompassing multiple styles from that period that might share some broad characteristics. Same thing with "Victorian" - a term that is like nails on a chalkboard to arch. historians!
posted by Preserver at 7:51 AM on July 6, 2021 [3 favorites]

19th and 20th c are especially broad descriptors of houses because so much of the world was having technological and social upheaval that changed how houses were built.

In a particular city or neighborhood, it might be more helpful because people who care know what set of buildings are being talked about. But, for instance, west coast US cities might well have 18th or 19th c buildings that are like those built a hundred years earlier on our east coast; then when California industry gets going this reverses, and California styles are built later elsewhere in the country.
posted by clew at 9:28 AM on July 6, 2021 [3 favorites]